Treasure
by Shockinblue
Summary: Sakumo comes home from a critical mission with more than just a successful report, Kakashi sounds finds himself an older brother to a pink-haired girl.
1. Chapter 1

Treasure

When Kakashi is six, his father comes home from an important mission, successful and his team intact. His father returns a little later than usual that night, after reporting to the Hokage.

Sakumo enters the dark entryway of his home and walks towards the light emanating from the kitchen. He peers inside to find his boy asleep on the sofa. He wedges his way carefully into the room and walks over to his son, gently patting him awake.

"Kakashi," Sakumo kneels down to be at eye-level with his son, "I'm home." Kakashi opens his eyes and rubs the sleep away as he sits up straighter, "Welcome home, dad. Dinner's on the table."

A warm smile blooms on the older man's face. "Before that, there's someone I want you to meet," he twists to bring a basket on to the sofa beside his son. Curious, he lookes inside the basket and is surprised to find a baby inside.

"Due to certain circumstances, I have decided to adopt her into the family. I hope you will treat your new little sister well, Kakashi," Sakumo waits patiently. His son is not very expressive by nature, the scarf hiding most of his expressions, but he can tell by the slight widening of his eyes, that the boy was transfixed by their new addition.

Kakashi looks down at the baby as it sleeps peacefully unaware, her tiny hand closing and opening carelessly. Without thought, he puts a finger in her tiny hand and she squeezes unconsciously. His body fills with a new emotion he can't quite describe.

Without looking at his father, quietly he asks for her name. Sakumo simply answers, "Sakura."

x

Kakashi is a figure of routine. He knows it, his father knows it, and soon his little sister would learn it. Every day when the last bell rings at the academy, he heads straight out the door past all the other lingering children. He passes by the instructors and stalls at the front gate for a brief moment.

His father has taken temporary leave from active duty to take care of Sakura, something Kakashi is grateful for, as it's an added benefit of his father being home more.

Kakashi is a big boy, so he turns right and walks himself home. Asuma and Genma call out to him at the end of the street, "Kakashi, wanna go play by the park?"

He knows there is a good chance they may be teammates after graduation, and if they survive the war, comrades for life. But at this moment, his has more important concerns. "Not today," he tells them and continues on his way. He misses the shrug the other boys share. Then again to them, Kakashi has always been a little enigmatic.

The little Hatake makes his way home and enters to the off-tune singing of his father further in. He takes of his shoes and positions them neatly in the front entryway. He was a boy of routine, after all.

"Dad?" he calls out as he opens the living room door. His father is sitting on the couch with his back to it; a part of Kakashi whispers that his father is leaving himself open to enemy fire, but then he remembers that they were home. Dismissing the notion entirely, his sensitive nose catches a whiff of something not so pleasant.

He hears his father shout in triumph a moment later as he lifts baby Sakura into the air, a brand new diaper on her tiny person. Sakumo holds the girl close as he cleans up the mess and turns to Kakashi, "Ah, welcome back son!"

His son is slightly hesitant to get any closer. Sakumo laughed, "Come, this isn't the first diaper I've ever changed. You might as well learn, it might come in handy one day." Kakashi gives his father an unconvinced look.

"Come, come. Sit here with her while I clean this up and get dinner started. Tell me about your day," he pats the empty seat as he rises and sets Sakura back in her carrier seat. Kakashi gives his sister a once-over, deeming her clean enough, he sits on the seat beside her and pulls out his homework.

"Class was...uneventful," he comments as he begins to work on today's assignment, a report on Tobirama Senju. "I see," Sakumo replies from the kitchen as he throws out the old diaper, washes his hands, and rummages through the fridge for ingredients to make dinner.

Kakashi would never tell a soul that his eyes kept glancing to the clock, eagerly counting down the hours until he could be home. To be with his family, his new family.

x

It's his first day off in a while, with no assignments, no class, and no body in his age group calling him to go out and play. And so, his father decides to take a quick two day mission. "Still got to put food on the table, pup," Sakumo pats Kakashi's head as he makes his way out the door. "I'm leaving Takkun with you and the Saihara's will be over in a few hours to check in. If you need anything, go to them. And if they're not there, you remember the quickest route to the hospital?"

Kakashi nodded, his father's inner mother-hen chose the oddest times to appear.

"Good, good..." Sakumo stalled at the door and gave his son a reassuring smile, "Take care of your sister and the house and I will be back tomorrow night."

Kakashi nodded one more time before his father left. With Sakura cradled carefully in his arm, he turned to look down at Takkun, a silver husky with brown eyes. "Come pup, you should eat dinner before it gets cold," the canine nudged the boy gently in the direction of the kitchen.

Kakashi settled his sister back into her carrier and picked up his food from the table, returning to sit by her side at the table. She was 8 months now and reaching milestones a little faster than normal. He made sure her bottle was the right temperature before handing it to her. She held it easily in her tiny hands, and began to drink.

The boy ate and watched her quietly. He thinks at the rate she's developing, she might be smart or rather a genius much like the rest of her family. A feeling swells inside him, pride? Perhaps.

She finishes the bottle faster than he can his food and he stops eating to wipe her chin and place the pacifier in her mouth. But she doesn't seem entirely content. Her hands are reaching out to grab at something, but all she's getting is thin air.

Curiously, Kakashi reaches out and she grabs hold of his index finger. Satisfied and feeling secured, Sakura easily falls asleep within seconds, the grip on his finger still there. Kakashi looks from his dinner to his sister and decides that now is a good of a time as any, to learn to eat with his non-dominant hand.

Takkun huffs from his spot on the floor. He believes there will be much to tell his master when he returns.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 02

Sakumo tied the cloth securely around his waist, baby Sakura nestled securely against his back. "Come on son, it's time to go!" he called up the stairs as he carefully lowered himself to put on his sandals. Maybe he should have put on the footwear before the babywear. Oh well. 'Always learning' was one of his many mottos.

Kakashi came down the stairs with his pack over one shoulder, and slipped into his sandals with ease. Together they left the house and walked to the academy.

Sakura was nine months old now, and it was about high time (Sakumo decided) that she was introduced to their village. Kakashi had his scarf pulled over his mouth, so it was hard to see, but he smiled a little, hoping that his sister would fall in love with their home and come to protect it one day, just like he and his father did and would do.

Around the corner from the academy gate, Kakashi stopped abruptly. "Dad, I can make it from here, don't you have some shopping to do?"

Sakumo blinked, "Yes, but I can drop you off first." Kakashi held up a hand, "No need, pops. It's just around the corner," Sakumo could imagine the grimace his boy's mouth was pulling, "Besides, if Maito-san and his kid wake up Sakura, well, it won't end well for anybody." _Least of all Gai_.

His father nodded in understanding, "I suppose you're right. It's a little to early for Sakura-chan to be crying. I'm hoping she'll like the market though," he gave his son's head a pat, "Off you go then. See you after class." He watched as his son nonchalantly turn the corner and walk past the academy gates.

Sakumo smiled to himself, his son was either becoming protective of his baby sister, or going through a rebellious phase of not wanting to be seen with his old man. Sakumo glanced at the snoozing baby on his back; he would like to think it was the former. Whistling softly, he made his way down to the market. Maybe he'd make his son's favourites for dinner tonight.

x

"Oh, Hatake-senpai! What a pleasant surprise to see you."

Sakumo turned around and met eyes with a familiar dark-haired couple. "Hello Fugaku-kun, Mikoto-kun, it's nice to see you two as well." He inclined his head slightly as the couple returned a slightly lower dip of their heads.

"And I see much as happened since we last met," Sakumo gestured to her midsection. Mikoto beamed, "Yes, we are expecting very soon. Any day now!" she was ecstatic to meet her child. Fugaku on the other hand maintained his sour expression. "Why, Fugaku, surely you must be equally as joyous to meet your child," Sakumo wanted to laugh at the other man's expense, he looked so uncomfortable and he knew exactly why.

"I am eager, yes, but I don't approve of her straying so far into the village when she is due any moment." Fugaku merely wanted his wife at home, or at the hospital, safe. Mikoto chuckled and slapped her husband's shoulder. "Dear, the doctor said it would be good to exercise, it makes labour easier." The man was not the slightest bit convinced.

Rolling her eyes at her husband's stubbornness, they quickly landed on the tiny person wrapped securely against their senior's back. She almost squealed in delight, "Senpai! I didn't know you had another child!" She moved closer to get a better look and she was easily fascinated by the pink hair and alert green eyes looking back at her.

Sakumo chuckled, "Ah yes, I adopted her after my latest mission. Her name is Sakura." Mikoto sighed, she could tell her senpai truly loved the child as if it was his own. The baby was beautiful. It was too bad she would never have a child with such pretty colouring. She almost wanted to pout. Instead she lifted her hand and wiggled her fingers, "Hello Sakura-chan, I hope you will get along with my child in the future," she placed her other hand over her swollen belly.

The Hatake nodded, "I'm certain that they will." The men glanced up as a hawk soared across the sky, screeching. Fugaku took Mikoto's hand and tugged her gently, "Come, we must not be late for the doctor's appointment." Mikoto shared a smile with her husband, "Of course, dear." The couple bowed one last time to the older Hatake and bid their farewells.

Sakumo watched them go and turned to continue his way home. He saw the warming, loving smile Mikoto shared with Fugaku. A small part of him wished his wife was still here. She would smile that way too, when she thought no one was watching. He let out a short laugh, he missed her dearly, but life went on.

He passed by the Yamanaka's flower shop, paused and backtracked. He went inside quickly to buy a small bouquet. Back on the street, he made a detour to the cemetery. He cleaned off his wife's marker as best as he could before laying down the flowers. He lifted Sakura out of the carrier and held her in his arms facing the stone. "Sakura-chan, meet my wife," he said quietly. "There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of her."

Sakura reached out to touch the smooth stone, her little fingers tracing over the engraving and the Konoha symbol at the bottom. Sakumo sat down in the grass and crossed his legs. He hadn't been here in a while. It took some time for the tears to stop automatically dropping at the mere sight of the marker. But that was a long time ago, and he was a stronger man now. He had to be for his son, and now his daughter, too.

"She was a wonderful mother to Kakashi, and she would have loved you to pieces, of that I'm sure."

x

 **Author's Note:** Thank you for all the reviews and follows/favourites. 67 follows over one chapter, I am amazed. I'm glad it was well-received. So in response to some of the questions in the reviews...

 **To SWU:** The world I'm building isn't meant to be too complicated. Hence why I won't be expanding on Sakura's backstory. The assumption is, Sakumo was to assassinate targets on a mission that, in canon, failed but he had saved his teammates. Thus receiving backlash from the village, thus him committing suicide. Here, I've twisted it so that he succeeded, and saved his teammates, nothing bad as happened. You can assume that Sakura is a causality of the mission ergo, her parents were probably the targets and he decided to save the baby and bring her home because leaving her to an uncertain future would be a horrible thing to do. For all he knew, she would have died by the time anybody discovered the targets' bodies, or something like that.

Anyways.

Her canon generation is not born yet. The focus here is Kakashi and Sakura, and maybe a third character that this chapter makes apparent ;) And let's face it if Protective!Kakashi has anything to say about it, none of his peers will even get to look at Sakura.

 **To Uncle RJ Kitten** : I'm not sure yet if Sakumo is going to play a really, really big role here. Even though this chapter was all about him. And I'm only saying this because I've never written Sakumo before. But I can write 'dads'. So I'm hoping that I'm doing an okay job at writing Papa Hatake. I feel like as the kids get older, the focus will be entirely on them most of the time.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 03

Father is out on another mission, leaving Kakashi in charge of the house, and his little sister. Granny Saihara wouldn't be here for a few more hours, and breakfast was already prepared beforehand. So all that was left, was to brave the most important task of the day.

Kakashi pulled a second mask over his first and tied his scarf extra tight around it. He peered down at the target and squared himself. Sakura watched him with slight fascination. He reached down and quickly removed her dirty diaper, wiping her bum, and swept the clean diaper under her with his other hand with recording timing. He sealed it up, _not too tight_ , he reminded himself in dad's voice and quickly disposed of the hazardous waste, sealing the smell away forever.

Heaving a sigh of relief, he quickly washed his hands and made his way back to her, patting himself on the back, figuratively of course, for a job well done. Takkun, extremely amused, watch the siblings from the other end of the couch, "Well done, Kaka-bo."

The boy picked up his sister and set her down on the floor next to her toys. Sakura busied herself with the latest toy from the Saihara couple, moving shapes back and forth and smacking things, entertained by the noises.

Kakashi kept an eye on his sister while also glancing around the room, ever since her 'village debut' friends and neighbours had been giving them old toys and clothes for her to play with and wear. Sakumo was extremely thankful to everyone. Kakashi came home everyday to see a few more things in the house meant for Sakura.

He attributed it to her unique colouring, and perhaps everyone saw her as a 'daddy's girl'.

He pulled out his homework, a little light reading and settled in to multitask reading and watching his sister. Takkun was a blessing for sure, his eyes constantly on her, so Kakashi could feel a little at ease.

He didn't even notice when Sakura had stopped playing with her toys, until Takkun nudged him in the side, "Pup's thinking hard over there." Kakashi stopped reading and looked up immediately.

Sakura sat a few feet from him, the toy entirely abandoned. Instead, she was facing him in her yellow onesie, her pacifier in her mouth. She just sat there and watched him.

And then she put her hands on the ground. Kakashi blinked. She brought her knees in. "Oh?" Takkun huffed.

She pushed herself up slowly and wobbled a bit but stilled when she managed to find her balance. "Oh no," Kakashi whispered. He held his hands out in slight alarm, "Don't... don't do that now. Shouldn't you, I don't know, wait for dad first or something?" He was panicking, his sister was about to take her first steps and his father wasn't the one witnessing it.

Of course, it's not like she could understand him. So she took one step forward, legs still shaky. Her hands were out at her sides, trying to help her gain balance. Then another step forward. Towards her brother.

Kakashi gulped. _Okay, okay, you got this._ He didn't know who he was rooting for. He looked at his hands and rotated them, holding them out towards her instead. That only seemed to encourage her more.

One step. Another step.

She reached out and grabbed a hand before her feet gave out and he caught her in his arms. He brought her in and hugged her, "Silly girl, dad will be upset when he finds out you've taken your first steps." Sakura giggled in response and made a grab for his mask. He leaned back out of reach but she did manage to pull his scarf down.

He sighed as she giggled away. "Well, if dad never knows, he can't get upset, I guess." She let go of his scarf and made a grabbing motion with her little hands. He knew what she wanted, he lift his free hand and gave it to her, she grabbed whatever fingers she could with her tiny hands and settled herself in his hold. He wiggled his fingers to entertain her until she fell asleep.

His little sister had decided to take her first steps today. Not to Granny Saihara, not dad, not the couch, not even Takkun. But to him, her older brother. Kakashi felt a surge of warmth that he chose not to acknowledge. He glanced over at Takkun, "Not a word to dad, Takkun."

"And miss the chance to see your doting father shed excessively unnecessary tears? I think that's something we can both agree on, Kaka-bo." Takkun huffed in amusement and closed his eyes. He would tell his master one day, just not today.

x

Granny Saihara knocked on the Hatake's door but heard nothing inside. She pulled out the spare key and unlocked the door, making her way inside. She peeked into the living room to the most adorable sight. Little Kakashi holding his baby sister, the both of them sleeping against Sakumo's biggest white dog.

Takkun's tail swished lightly when he heard the door creak open. He opened his eyes lazily to look at their neighbour. She was a good human in his books, always snuck him a piece of meat when she was cooking.

Granny Saihara smiled and lifted a finger up to her lips. She made her way in and quietly into the kitchen to prepare dinner for the sleeping siblings. Not a peep was made by either as she prepared dinner. She occasionally stole glances into the living room when she could. But the pair just kept sleeping.

Seeing them made her reminisce about her own childhood. She knew the Hatake siblings already had a tight bond, despite not sharing the same blood. She wondered what kind of girl Sakura would grow up to be. Maybe a little hell-raiser like herself in her youth. Granny Saihara chuckled a little to herself at the possibility. She looked forward to seeing them both grow up.

 **Author's Note:** Again, thanks for all the reviews in the last chapter. To answer some burning concerns from those who left reviews...

To an extremely excited **Guest** : Don't worry, Sakumo gets to live. And it's great that you have a lot of feelings for HatakeSiblings. But um, those scenarios are a long, long time away. Sakura's only 9 months old and Itachi isn't born yet. We'll see what happens. It's a slow cooker in here.

To **align** : I actually don't have a whole lot planned out. Or at all. I just write on a whim. I open a blank document and my fingers just start tapping away. I occasionally remember to link the current chapter I'm writing with something that happened in an older chapter to make it connect. Otherwise, it's extremely free-handed. Writing fluffy, slice-of-life stuff helps me relax.

To **Tiffanycr** : Entralled from the get-go, I suppose. As I previously mentioned to another reviewer in the last chapter, she's basically born at the same time as Itachi's generation, so Itachi, Inuzuka Hana, and such. But you're mostly going to see a lot of the Kakashi's generation and eventually a lot more of his future teammates, Obito and Rin. And the parents generation, so Minato & Kushina, Tsume, Shiki, Hiashi & Hizashi, etc, possibly. Lee & Idate will not be born until their canon timeline. So they probably will not be in this story.

To **fluffpenguin** : I believe the reason Kakashi skips a year and suddenly graduates is because of his father's death. Since, Sakumo is alive, that's kind of been nulled. But he'll become genin soon enough cause it's still war times. Um. As great as Itachi/Sakura is, Itachi/Sakura in this story as baby and fetus is kind of weird. Even as baby and baby, it's still weird. I never planned to write it down that path. If I wanted to write Itachi/Sakura, it would be an entirely different story. This is focused mainly on Kakashi & Sakura as siblings.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 04

Takkun is Sakumo's leading ninken. Since their contract formed, the silver husky has been a staple presence in almost all missions, and perhaps the most interactive with his human's personal life. The rest of the pack come and go as they pleased, but Takkun simply preferred to stick around.

Perhaps, the dog muses on occasion, it all began when Sakumo and his mate had their first child, Kakashi.

He remembered being there for the pup's first bath in the adult's tub, in which Takkun also had the misfortune of actively participating in. "He'd like it better if you were in there with him," Sakumo had urged. Liar.

He remembered when the White Fang's little boy took his first steps, and then stomped on his tail. By accident of course. His tail's never been quite the same, he likes to hold that over the boy now.

There were good times. And there were bad times.

When Sakumo's mate had passed, neither he nor his ninken had been present. They received a message by way of hawk, and as soon as their stand-in arrived to take Sakumo's place, the man had bolted in the direction of the village. Faster than Takkun had ever seen the man run.

He remembered the cries of little Kakashi, the tears and sorrow of Sakumo. The loneliness both males felt. A hole missing in their little pack. It was probably at that moment, that Takkun vowed to stick by his master's side. He needs me now more than ever.

Years passed and one day another addition was added to their pack, a little pink-haired girl by the name of Sakura. This pup resembled nothing of her adoptive family in looks, but she was certainly smart and did strange things. Takkun liked to watch her and Kakashi. The interactions would be what humans would call "adorable".

But the little girl on her own was sometimes fascinating. She has quite the active mind, very curious. Every day it seemed like she was pushing the boundaries a little more. Takkun once told his master to count his lucky stars that she wasn't a troublemaker like his first.

Not yet anyways.

Today had been relatively calm though. Sakumo was on a day mission, Kakashi was currently in class. That left him at home to watch the pup with Granny Saihara. On days like this, Takkun preferred to lay at the foot of the couch. The older woman, when not preparing snacks or looking after Sakura's needs (he covers his nose with his tail when it's diaper time, no shame), spent a lot of time reading to the girl.

And Sakura absolutely loved it. She got to lean back into Granny Saihara and look at the abundance of colourful pictures as the woman pointed at the pictures and then read the words. The first book of the day was animal themed.

"Duck," granny says, as she points at the duck on the board book, "and this is Cat." She points at the corresponding animal. Cow, goat, rabbit, pig, and the list goes on. Takkun's ears twitch involuntarily, who knew reading animal names could make him hungry.

Sakura is smiling and pointing at pictures and tracing them with her little finger. Granny flips the thick board to a new page and the little babe grabs a hold of the book with her chubby fingers. "Tak!" she says and laughter bubbles out of her mouth.

"Sweetie, this is Dog," granny says.

"Tak!" the babe repeats again, laughing.

Granny Saihara is a little amused and tries to see if she can get the girl to say the word, "Dear, can you say dog?" She repeats the word a few times, slower to make the notes clearer. Sakura pays her no mind though, "Tak!" she says again with full clarity.

"Hm," granny pats the babe's head, thoroughly amused, "Alright, 'Tak' it is." Granny doesn't miss the way Takkun has completely burrowed his face behind his back foot and tail.

x

It's a nice spring day in Konoha, a little bit before Sakura turns one when Sakumo decides to introduce the rest of his pack to her. It's still a little cold so he's dressed her in multiple layers and appropriate shoes now that she can walk, much to his surprise.

They are together in the yard with Kakashi, who is also heavily layered. Sakumo thinks his boy's got at least two masks and two scarves around his face. His hands in gloves and shoved into his coat pockets as he watches his sister move around the yard, her steps pretty solid, but there is the occasional slip up. He watches mostly for those.

Takkun is walking beside her, ready for anything. Sakumo takes a moment to watch his children before biting into his thumb and summoning the rest of the pack.

A plume of smoke later, his yard is filled with half a dozen more dogs of various sizes and breeds. "What's up Sakumo? We didn't sense any alarm in your chakra, everything okay over here?" the largest of the six asked.

"Oh, everything's just fine Shoga," Sakumo motioned for them to turn around and look behind them, "I thought I've been talking about her long enough, it was time for you all to just meet her."

The dogs, some cautious, some excited, turned and saw the baby with wide green eyes looking back at them. For a moment, everything was still, but Kakashi could see the growing excitement in his sister's eyes, and then she pointed at the group of ninken and exclaimed, "Tak!"

Takkun saw the brief flashes of horror in his pack's eyes and let out a literal bark of laughter. The ninken came out of their stupor pretty quick and trotted over to the girl, surrounding her. Shoga nudged her, "Listen here pup, my name is Shoga. Sho-ga." Sakura giggled endlessly and reached her hands up to grab at the dog's mane, "Tak!"

The ninken pack, besides Takkun, came to an unanimous vote; there was much work to be done with their newest pup.

x

 **Author's Note:** Hey, yeah, I know it's been forever. I'm terrible at updating anything because I'm not a writer-type. I'm a reader-type. And... adult-ing is just really hard in general. I just thought, what the heck, and decided to write this real quick. It's fully of grammatical errors, I know. I just wanted to have a little fun before I walk my dog. Again, please do not PM or write reviews asking me to update. It's not going to make me do so any faster or sooner. Although the interest is appreciated.

In case anyone is curious, Shoga indeed means 'ginger'. And yes, all of Sakumo's ninken are named after food. Decided that on a whim. What breeds they are, is pretty irrelevant. I wanted to make this one a little longer, but I had already gone over the 1k word limit. Until next time folks!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 05

Kakashi sat on the back porch, open books all around him, a scroll and ink brush in his hand. His assignment this week required him to write a paper on an area of ninja arts he was interested in, the basic of the arte, and its applications. So naturally, he chose fuinjutsu.

While mostly focused on writing his draft, occasionally he would look up and check on his sister. Granny Saihara was hanging the laundry on one side of the yard, and Sakura was more in the center, surrounded by a few members of his father's pack.

Since their introduction to each other a few months ago, the dogs had quickly taken her under their collective wing. The first item on their list was to teach her their names. They might have been pack, but they were individually prideful enough to not want to be called "Tak". If dogs could roll their eyes, Kakashi was sure Takkun would have done it.

Within the first month she had learned the other members' names. And now she could say "Sho," "Azu," "DaiDai," "Negi," "RinRin" and "MoMo". They were all very proud of her. Then they decided to play with her to keep her busy, now that she was mobile and extremely active.

The members that favoured that activity the most were the youngest ones, Mirin and Mochi. Siblings, almost identical in colouring, loved to walk circles around the little girl to try to and confuse her. It was one of their favourite games, circle her and then stop in front of her, and see if she could figure out who was who. Sometimes she spun around so much to watch them that she often fell on her bum and giggled endlessly.

The older ones like to keep to the sides, and keep a watchful eye on the rambunctious group. Namely Shoga, Takkun, and Daikon. The other two, Azuki and Negi preferred to think of themselves as mentors for the little girl, occasionally seeing fit to teach her something new.

It didn't take long before Sakura started imitating the pack. It began with the bouncing, then 'falling' down and so the dogs could nuzzle her belly, and she even figured out a human version of the infamous 'play bow'.

Kakashi had nothing to say about it, out loud at least. But he found it absolutely endearing.

But the feeling was short-lived.

He looked up again at the sound of multiple yips and barks, and saw that Mirin and Mochi had stepped up their game. Instead of walking circles around the girl, they had decided to start chasing her. He watched transfixed in mild horror as his little baby sister (emphasis on baby), started laughing hysterically as her steps went from walking to running.

She was being chased. She absolutely loved it. And she was running!

She was running!

His heart almost leapt into his throat as he watched her run away from the pups and straight into the back of Granny Saihara's legs. He breathed a deep sigh of relief when the force didn't knock them over.

"Hm?" granny clipped the last sheet to the clothesline and turned around when she felt something hit her legs. She looked down and saw little Sakura hugging her, a wide smile on her tiny cherub face. "Hello dear, having fun are we?" she patted the babe's head and Sakura simply detached herself, turned and decided she was going to chase the dogs next.

Kakashi watched granny watch Sakura run away. How can she be so calm!? Perhaps granny was really a war veteran and the act of Sakura running just didn't register on her danger scale. That's what he kept telling himself at least.

The back screen slid open and his father stepped out to greet his family and granny. Scroll and ink laid forgotten on his lap as Kakashi swivelled his head from father to sister and pointed, "Dad, she's running!"

The elder Hatake held a hand under his chin as he contemplated the sight before him. He nodded dutifully, "Indeed she is. It's a shame I'm never the first to witness it though."

Kakashi wanted to pull his hair out, why was his father not more concerned!? Did the adults not see what he was seeing?

"What if she trips and breaks an arm or something?" Kakashi felt his palms sweat. Sakumo eyed his son, a gentle smile spreading across his face. His boy truly cared and loved his little sister. But perhaps he was being too protective of her. Sakumo patted his son's head, "Babies are tough, besides, Shoga and Takkun are watching her very carefully. I've seen you do much worse at your age."

Granny walked over to them with the empty basket. She set it down next to the discarded books and took a good look at the fear in Kakashi's eyes. She looked back and forth between the siblings before she started chuckling, "There's no need to be so panicked boy. Sakura's just walking a little faster now."  
She. was. running.

As if reading his thoughts, granny merely chuckled again, "I wouldn't really call it running, dear. It's more like... speed stomping. You certainly did worse at that age."

The frantic gears ground to a halt in his mind. He took slow breathes and reexamined the situation again. Now that he could focus a little better, he realized that indeed, she wasn't full out running like a normal person. She just picked up her face and made heavier steps. She really was 'speed stomping'. A snort escaped him before he quickly covered his mouth.

They watched for a little longer as the back and forth chasing continued until the pups slowed to a stop and howled, the little high-pitched 'awoo's. And then to the shock of all three humans by the porch, little Sakura threw her head back and howled too!

Granny burst into giggles, "Now that," she tried to sound coherent between her fits, "should be more alarming. Everyone will think she was raised by wolves."

 **Author's Note:** I love dogs. Kids are impressionable little things. I mostly started writing this fic because my best friend gave birth last year. And these little milestones and events happen and she tells me about them. "He runs now, his cousins started chasing him and he learned to run! He's laughing his head off and going around in circles. It's amazing and terrifying at the same time." She had told me. I don't get to see them often, but about a month after that, I saw it for the first time at his 1 year birthday party. And she was like, "See, he's running around, it's insane!" But legit, exactly like I wrote it, it looked more like he was speed stomping. Because that's exactly what it was, he moved a little faster, and his steps were a little heavier, but it wasn't running like a bigger kid or adult did. So, there you go, speed stomping.

I just can't get enough of dogs. In case anyone is curious, the names are Takkun (whose full call name is actually Takenoko, as in bamboo shoots), Shoga (ginger), Mochi, Mirin (sweet sake), Azuki (red bean), Negi (onion) and Daikon (radish).


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 06

"All done!" Sakura sang as she showed her papa the empty cup. Sakumo smiled down at her, "Well done my dear, would you like some more?" She held her cup out, knowing her father would fill it up a little more with the juice she just had.

Kakashi watched from the opposite side of her. In a few short months, his little sister would be two years old, and already she had a few phrases and melodies memorized. 'All done' being one of many.

The boy picked at his food, momentarily distracted in his observation of the little human. Sakura picked up a piece of sausage from her plate and put it in her mouth. Chewing with her baby teeth and swallowing, in his opinion, a little quickly. She took to solid foods very well, easily eating a few eggs and sausages all on her own. It was almost like she was a bottomless pit.

She eyed something on her father's plate and her hands stretched out, making a grabbing motion, "Pickle!" she said, her enunciation not quite on point, given that she was still not even two. Her father handed over the largest piece of pickled daikon on his plate. She smiled wide and began to chew on it.

"Kakashi," his father caught the boy's attention, "If you don't finish your breakfast soon, you'll be late for class." Kakashi glanced at the clock and made quick work on his breakfast. Not soon after, he waved goodbye to his family and headed out the door.

"Now then," Sakumo turned back in time to catch his daughter 'dropping' some sausage on to the floor for one of the ninken. With a fond smile he watched her push another piece off on the other side of her high chair for another ninken, "If you keep doing that, the pups will get fat."

Mirin and Mochi, the ones who ate, licked the bottom of the girl's feet, elicity squeals and laughter from the babe. "Non-sense Sakumo-sama! There isn't an ounce of fat on us!" Of course there wasn't, he thought idly to himself, not with the running they did around all day with his baby girl.

"All right, little lady," Sakumo hoisted the girl into his arms. Clearly if she was playing with her food, she was done eating for now. "Let's get you changed shall we? Granny Saihara wanted to show you her garden." At the mention of the elderly lady, Sakura smiled. She loved granny!

Her father carried her up the stairs and into her room. He rummaged through the drawer until he found what he wanted. Today, papa was going to put her in a duck onesie. The other day it was a cow onesie. Sakumo had found a good deal the other day at the market and bought an entire animal set. He was definitely excited to have her wear them all eventually.

"Quack quack!" she sang, imitating what Granny Saihara read to her from those colourful books. "Yes, indeed, Sakura-chan, it's a duck," Sakumo praised easily and dressed the toddler with efficiency. He set carried her back down the stairs and set her down, "Want to hold daddy's hand?" He held his hand out to her.

"Un!" she grabbed hold of his fingers with her tiny hand and together they left the house. Little as she was, Sakura was quite capable of walking on her own now, and liked to do so as much as possible. Stairs were still a little tricky, and her father preferred to hold hands with her when they were out, to keep her safe of course.

Granny Saihara only lived a few houses down the street, so they arrived quite quickly. Sakumo lifted her up so she could push the door bell, "ding dong!" she sang again, in time with the bell.

Grandpa Saihara was the one to open the door a moment later. Sakura practically beamed, "Jii-cha!" Grandpa Saihara's heart practically melted at how adorable the little girl was. "Why hello Sakura-chan. I see today you are a duck."

"Quack quack!" she sang again and giggled to herself.

Grandpa Saihara stepped aside to let them in, Sakumo closing the door behind themselves. He took of his shoes and placed them correctly at the entrance. Then he helped Sakura with hers. She watched intently as her father explained basic manners. She didn't understand much, but it made Grandpa Saihara and her father happy, so maybe one today she would be able to do this too.

Grandpa held out his hand and Sakura took hold of what fingers she could as he led her towards the backyard door. He slid the screen to the side and Sakura marvelled at the sight on their garden. Beautiful flowers everywhere, some much taller than herself. Her eyes didn't know where to rest, her scanned the yard and eventually found granny with a big straw hat on her head, gloves over her hands. "Baa-cha!" she exclaimed and the elderly woman turned and smiled. "Hello Sakura-chan, welcome to our little garden."

Grandpa helped her down the steps and once on the grass, Sakura let go and ran straight towards granny, softly crashing into the woman's legs, and hugging her.

Sakumo helped grandpa prepare tea and snacks, and helped the elderly man carry it back to the porch where the men sat as they watched the women in their lives interact so lively amidst the flora.

Sakura moved from one plant to the next, examining the different flowers. Her eyes eventually caught on a little honey bee resting on the hydrangea. Granny explained to the fascinated little girl. Eventually Sakura patted her belly and looked at granny, who knew instantly what the girl wanted. She guided the child back to the porch, where the men met them with ice tea and cookies.

Sakura hauled herself up onto the porch, seating herself in her father's lap, half a cookie pushed in to her hands. She cast a glance at the tray of food, maybe she could convince her papa to bring some back for nii-chan.

Little Sakura felt so much love, and couldn't wait until she was capable of speaking bigger words to let them all know just how she felt.

x

 **Author's note:** Trying to get something in as it's been a while, and the next two weeks are going to be busy as heck. I work at a bakery. Why do people love to celebrate Christmas with cake? Thank you for the business, but I wish it wasn't essentially hell-breaks-loose- for us. Maybe there will be another chapter or so in the next little bit. I had some scenarios I wanted to write out.


End file.
